How does mRC-3D play
key role in economy drive?
Bringing their printing presses into the line with the ongoing quality and
efficiency improvement, Ohio-based daily The Columbus Dispatch has installed
124 mRC-3D cameras from Q.I. Press Controls in their printing plant.
Now, two years on, the system is operating in full capacity and has led the newspaper
to significant saving in cost and waste. Get a glimpse of this success story.
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Barely two years
ago, as part of
a face-lifting
exercise, The Columbus
Dispatch decided to
adapt its printing
presses to enable them to print
in 3V format. The ultimate aim
was to enhance quality and
efficiency in outputs. At the time,
the newspaper was the first in
the US to introduce mRC-3D
from Q.I. Press Controls. Their
printing plant in Ohio installed
a total of 124 mRC-3D cameras.
Today, within the span of a
couple of years, The Columbus
Dispatch is living up to their
expectations that has brought in
sizeable savings in terms of the
cost of production and waste,
which gives Q.I. Press Controls
yet another reason to take pride
in its automated solutions.
Developmental phases
The Columbus Dispatch is the
name of the organisation cum
the newspaper which goes by
the same name and they have
several other titles and an online
platform. It was in 1871 that ten
master printers decided that the
city of Columbus should have
its own evening paper. The first
ever edition of what was then
called The Daily Dispatch was
published on July 1, 1871. In the
turbulent years in between, The
Columbus Dispatch has become
the most prominent newspaper
in the region and since 1985 it
has been the only major daily
in Columbus.
Explaining about the
organisation’s focus, Kelly
Cline, production general
manager, The Columbus
Dispatch, explained, “The
overarching objective is the
continuous improvement of our
product for our readers. Our
aims are to minimise waste
and to continue
improving print
quality so that
our oper a tors
can devote
their at tention
to other aspects
of optimising
production.” In 2013, this focus
led to a completely new editorial
model and advertising strategy.
The organisation decided to fit
out its four TKS newspaper
printing presses for a more
compact layout, otherwise
known as the 3V format. This
is 40 percent smaller than the
original format.
The organisation added four
new folders to the presses so
that it was possible to fold
and cut the newspaper length
three times per overall cylinder
circumference, instead of twice.
This modification resulted in 24
pages of print, rather than 16,
per overall cylinder rotation.
The presses were converted
in such a way that they were
able to print both the normal
format as well as the 3V. These
modifications resulted in an
increase in printing capacity.
Searching for automation
As part of the on going
developments, The Columbus
Dispatch also went in search
of the solutions for automatic
colour and cut-off register. First
and foremost, it was necessary
for these systems to work with
the 3V format, and secondly,
for waste and start-up times
to be reduced as much as
possible. Last but not least,
increased and error-free print
quality through an improved
and consistent register was
a precondition. Personnel
at The Columbus Dispatch
were already acquainted
with suppliers of register
systems, amongst them was
Q.I. Press Controls.
After some thorough research,
Q.I. Press Controls was singled
out for the installation of its
colour and cut-off register
on the presses. In this, Kelly
decided, “Q.I. Press Controls’
system was picked for its
ease-of-use, its reputation and
the self-cleaning lenses on the
cameras. During a fact-finding
mission to a plant that had
also been fitted with a similar
Q.I. Press Controls’ system, it
soon became clear that they
were extremely satisfied. This
was a great help in arriving
at our decision.” Today, the
newspaper has gathered pace
in terms of wider coverage,
larger readership and high-end
equipments in its production
p lan t. The 124 mRC-3D
cameras meet the requirements
of The Columbus Dispatch’s
editorial model in full.
Landmark installations
The 124 mRC-3D cameras for
colour and cut-off control at The
Columbus Dispatch’s plant came
with optional AIMS (Automatic
Ink Mist Shield) and Side-lay
ribbon control. Unique to this
system is the functionality
of pre-setting the cut-off
compensators. When a print run
is loaded, all compensators are
programmed to minimise waste.
The engineers installed the
cameras on four TKS newspaper
printing presses with a total of
20 towers and four folders. It
proved possible to implement
this large project whilst normal
newspaper production continued.
For Q.I. Press Controls this
represents an important order,
not just in terms of size, but
also because this is the first
US customer.
Now that The Columbus
Dispatch gets elated to the
quality of the product and the
fast switch-over times that the
automated system facilitates; in
their view, mRC-3D cameras are
so convenient and their presses
are a lot easier to manage,
allowing them to work even
more effectively. The system
reduces waste, saves time and
ensures customer satisfaction and
development. Kelly conclusively
asserted that the system meets
all their expectations and they
believe in seeing yet more results
in the future.
